New stretch target

We hope to make a series of more videos like that, and any additional funds will help make that happen, enabling us to start a new conversation about sexual assault and consent. As this festival is being organized entirely by volunteers, any amount of donation can still help off-set the expenses involved in an event like this. Things like travel costs for our artists, web space to store our online videos, and supplies for our creative workshops — all these things add up.

We’re thrilled by the amount of support coming from around the globe. People have been pledging from as far afield as the US, the Middle East, and Asia — indicating that sexual assault is a global issue that affects millions of individuals around the world. By reaching our stretch target, we now know that we can film the events at the Clear Lines Festival and make the videos of the events available online — and reach audiences globally. Unfortunately, we’ve also learned that the Arts Council will not be funding our event, so we need to depend entirely on what we can raise from crowdfunding. Many thanks for your support!

It’s time to talk about sexual assault – and we’ve found a brilliant way to do it at a 4 day festival of art, discussion, and debate this summer.

Every hour, the equivalent of one man and over ten women are raped in England and Wales. One in five girls and one in twelve boys will be sexually abused. So many of us are affected by sexual assault, and because it’s so difficult to talk about, we’re missing opportunities to get together and tackle the problem.

But with your help, we can change that and start to have the kinds of conversations we need to have about sexual assault and consent.We are creating theClear Lines Festivalto bring together comedians, activists, artists, psychologists, journalists, and the public in a vibrant, very human exploration of themes around sexual abuse, sexual violence, and consent.

Clear Lines will be the first-ever UK festival of its kind.

If we raise enough funds, programme highlights would include:

Thursday, July 30th

Film Night — An exclusive screening of thought-provoking documentary films, including the BAFTA-nominated film ‘The Unspeakable Crime: Rape’, followed by a discussion with the filmmakers Sara Hardy and Blue Ryan.

Friday, July 31st

Panel Discussion — The Role of the Media in Representing Sexual Abuse and Violence: What Makes the News? Our panel of journalists, experts, and survivors contribute to a lively debate on reporting and reality.

Creative Writing Workshop — Led by poet Rachel Long, participants are invited to explore the issue of sexual abuse and assault in their own words.

Our talks programme continues with:

Storytelling Sexual Abuse through Comics — Graphic novelists and cartoonists present a showcase of their work

Do Real Men Get Raped? — On being a male survivor

How Can We Use Art for Activism? — #thisdoesntmeanyes activists discuss using art to deliver their message

And that's just a taste of what's on offer!

We already have a great line up of artists and experts who want to engage with this issue at Clear Lines - but we can't make this happen alone. We need to raise funding to hire the venue, cover the most basic costs, and to spread the word of the festival as far as possible, and to ensure that most of our events can be free to all.

We need to we reach our initial target of £3500 to make this festival happen, largely through volunteers and contributors who are donating their time and effort. But we want to bring the festival to as many people as possible, so if we reach our stretch target of £9000 we will be able to film our sessions and workshops and share them online, for free, to give the festival a legacy, and have an impact on more people's lives. We'll also be able to compensate the artists and speakers who are bringing so much to Clear Lines.

No matter how small the donation, you can help make the Clear Lines festival a reality. Help us to replace the shame and silence usually associated with this issue with insight, understanding and community. So please donate, spread the word, and join us at the festival - either in person in London, or online.

Let's start the conversations that don’t always happen, and find our way of creating change.

Rewards

Get £10 reward

A big thank you for helping to make this event happen!
Social media shout outs and regular update on project developments

57 backers so far

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A personal thank you card from the Clear Line team and a signed piece of literature from one of the writers featured in the festival.
Credit on the website.

31 backers so far

Estimated delivery: August 2015

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Free ticket to the Film Night on Thursday 30th July.
Signed copy of The Courage to Be Me by Dr Nina Burrowes.
Credit on website and printed thank you in programme.

16 backers so far

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Free ticket to the Theatre Night on Friday 31st July.
Signed copy of The Courage to Be Me by Dr Nina Burrowes.
Credit on website and printed thank you in programme.

4 backers so far

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Free ticket to the Spoken Word Night on Sunday 2nd August.
Signed copy of The Courage to Be Me by Dr Nina Burrowes.
Credit on website and printed thank you in programme.

3 backers so far

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Free ticket to the Comedy Night on Saturday 1st August.
Signed copy of The Courage to Be Me by Dr Nina Burrowes.
Credit on website and printed thank you in programme.

4 backers so far

Get £75 reward

Signed set of visual art and literature from Clear Lines Artists-in-Residence and contributors.
Credit on website and printed thank you in programme.

10 backers so far

Estimated delivery: August 2015

Get £100 reward

Free ticket to all four evening events - Film, Theatre, Comedy, and Spoken Word.
Signed copy of The Courage to Be Me by Dr Nina Burrowes.
Credit on website and printed thank you in the programme.

8 backers so far

Get £150 reward

Your choice of a signed A4 print by visual artist XXXora from her acclaimed 2014 exhibition.
Free ticket to all four evening events - Film, Theatre, Comedy, and Spoken Word.
Credit on website and printed thank you in the programme.

2 backers so far

Estimated delivery: August 2015

Get £200 reward

Free pair of tickets to all four evening events - Film, Theatre, Comedy, and Spoken Word.
Signed set of visual art and literature from Clear Lines Artists-in-Residence and contributors.
Credit on website and printed thank you in the programme.

4 backers so far

Get £300 reward

An exclusive A3 print by artist Johanna Ward on archival quality photographic paper using Hahnemuhle Photo Rag.
Free pair of tickets to all four evening events - Film, Theatre, Comedy, and Spoken Word.
Signed copy of The Courage to Be Me by Dr Nina Burrowes.
Credit on website and printed thank you in the programme.

3 backers so far

Estimated delivery: September 2015

Get £500 reward

Lunch with the Clear Lines Festival team and a collection of signed books and illustrations from festival contributors. Free pair of tickets to all four evening events.
Prominent credit on website and printed thank you in the programme.

0 backers so far

Get £1,000 reward

Sponsorship of one day of the Clear Lines Festival, with organisation logo featured prominently on homepage and listed as a festival sponsor on the website and in the printed programme.